Orthopedic Development pulls in $8M for spinal-fusion devices
Orthopedic Development, a Clearwater, Fla., maker of spinal-fusion devices, raised $8 million in an oversubscribed institutional funding round. The private placement, handled by GunnAllen Financial, was entirely funded by individual investors, VentureWire reports (subscription required).
Orthopedic Development’s operating subsidiary, MinSurg, makes and sells a fusion device called TruFuse, which involves the use of small pieces of human bone, rather than plates and screws, to stabilize the spine. The proceeds of the round will be used to accelerate sales of TruFuse and to fund additional research and development.
One odd note about this company: Its Web site flags a “security alert” (the link can’t be reproduced for some reason, but I’ve uploaded the PDF file here; you can also go to Orthopedic Development’s Web site and click on the red “security alert” text at top right) that warns about “deceptive, inaccurate and malevolent e-mails” recently received by the company’s investment bank and advisors. It doesn’t actually say what mysterious allegations these e-mails are supposed to be pushing, but notes that the company’s independent directors have concluded they contain “no credible information.”
This sort of hysterical overreaction to criticism is rarely a good sign, of course. If anyone knows more, feel free to e-mail or leave a comment.
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About the Author, David P. Hamilton
David Hamilton has been writing for VentureBeat LifeScience since April 2007. He formerly spent 14 years as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal in its San Francisco and Tokyo bureaus. Prior to that, he spent several years as a reporter at Science Magazine and as a reporter/researcher for the New Republic, both in Washington.
